Dissent 133 Ultimate Cycling Glove Pack review – this mix & match solution lives up to its name... to a point

It's not often that you'd consider buying four pairs of gloves at once, but that's what you get in the Dissent 133 Ultimate Cycling Glove Pack. I’ve often used an extra inner with my deep winter gloves, and last year I’d also enjoyed superlight waterproof overmitts, so the chance to try a set that was specifically designed to fit together was attractive.

Dissent 133 is a brand from The Rider Firm, of the Hunt Wheels stable, and like the parent product, the gloves set is a good idea strongly marketed. For £109 you get a waterproof/windproof outer (£55 individually), a showerproof/windproof outer (£30), a knitted Cordura inner (£20) and a silk liner (£10). And a nice box. The idea is that you can mix and match them – including using the outers by themselves – in any conditions from 15C / 60F and bright, to -5C / 23F and stormy. 

They have no off-road features – they’re aimed at road and gravel riders. I used them happily on my MTB, but mostly on drop bars for gravel riding, commuting and road rides.

I think finding gloves that fit amazingly is a personal thing and hard at the best of times. And even some of my favorites are a compromise between hand size and finger length. Dissent 133 had their work cut out in designing outer gloves that are spacious enough to take inners, and yet viable as solo gloves, and they just about achieved it. The inners are a bit more generic but they do all work well together.

Design and specifications

HDryLite Gloves – weighing 46g for a small, these single-layer gloves get their heavy-duty waterproofing from a seamless bonded membrane and water-shedding nanoparticles on the outside. 

They’re not shy of marketing at Dissent 133, and you could be forgiven for expecting a space-age miracle that never wets out. That’s not quite true, but they are light and tactile. The wrist closure has an easy-to-grab loop and strong Velcro strips. The back of the hand has a big pleat and it all looks as if it’s been inspired by a corset, which is unusual, but each to their own. 

The Showerlite Windproof Gloves have a similar style and wrist fastening, but a more conventional fabric outer with a DWR coating, and an inner membrane that’s windproof and showerproof. The fabric is lighter with a little more stretch, and the glove weighs 25g. On our samples, the palm patterns were much stickier than on the HDryLite Gloves. 

The first inner glove is the Cordura Touchfit Thermal layer. It’s a simple knitted nylon/polyester glove with silicone palm and finger grips, and a cuff that’s long enough to fit over a watch.

The final piece of the puzzle is the 100% silk liner, at 11g, simple, snug and relatively short cuffed.

Performance

The main thing I appreciated about the two outer gloves was the lack of bulk for the amount of weather protection they gave. Using the HDryLite glove without an inner liner was surprisingly warm and yet dexterous and free-feeling, even below 7C / 45F or so, when I’d normally be cold in an insulated glove. I suspect the full windproofing, a bit of thickness to the fabric, and also a decent amount of finger-wiggling space all helped here. 

The HDryLite’s waterproofing was impressive, even in biblical deluges. After longer periods or in warmer weather they did eventually get a little damp on the inside but I’m pretty sure that was a breathability question.

The Showerlite gloves also hit a nice sweet spot for me. Even though their water resistance was minimal, they were great by themselves, really light and dexterous, when it was just too cool for a knitted glove.

I wasn’t so convinced by the inner gloves, particularly the Cordura one which felt like a poor man’s DeFeet Duraglove, with a looser knit that was more prone to snagging, and oddly short fingers compared to the rest of the glove set. The silk liner was generic but fine, with a snug fit and good value at only £10 if you were to buy it separately.

The layering concept is definitely a win. Not just for those of us who aren’t tough enough to be bold and start cold on a ride, and want to peel off a layer when we warm up. But also if you want to dry out gloves on the go, as on a multi-day trip. Thick thermal gloves are magnificent… until they get wet on the inside, as they do when you take your hands in and out of them in the rain. Then they start to cling to your hands and they never dry out. If you can take the inner out, you’ve got a fighting chance.

I didn’t find the Velcro as bad as some other reviewers have done, though it’s true that the aggressive face is the part that is often not fully covered and can catch on the cuffs of your clothes. It’s also true that if you need to use bare hands from time to time, then it’s more of a faff to remove an inner and an outer than just one thicker glove.

Verdict

The name Dissent 133 comes from the average number of days it rains in the UK each year, and a refusal to avoid riding on them. The idea of a mix and match set works well, although if you’ve already got gloves you like, you might not want to buy the whole pack, especially as the inner gloves aren’t particularly special. (You can also buy the gloves as separate pairs.)

For me, the unlined waterproof outer was the standout, giving full storm waterproofing but unlike a typical (insulated) winter glove, leaving you to decide how much warmth to add inside it.

Tech specs: Dissent 133 Ultimate Cycling Glove Pack

• Price:  £109 / €132.20 / $143.03
• Color: Black
• Sizes: XS-XL
• HDryLite Gloves: 92% polyamid, 8% elastane. Inc Hydry membrane, Schoeller outer, reflective fingertips, silicone palm grips
• Showerlite Windproof Gloves: 100% polyester, Inc reflective fingertips, silicone palm grips
• Cordura Touchfit Thermal Gloves: 71% Cordura nylon, 29% Coolmax polyester
• Silk Liner Gloves: 100% silk